Former Raiders Offensive Lineman Talks Team's Offensive Struggles Up Front

Former Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Richie Incognito gave insight into what he thinks is wrong with Las Vegas' offensive line.

Las Vegas Raiders OL Dylan Parham, Andre James, Cody Whitehair / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

The Las Vegas Raiders' offensive line has been a surprising disappointment so far this season.

A unit that was much-improved on paper this offseason has struggled through the first two games.

Former Raiders offensive lineman Richie Incognito, who knows better than most what it takes for an offensive line to be successful, recently gave his assessment on the unit so far this year when he joined "The Silver and Black Show."

"It's been a shaky start for the guys up front," Incognito said. "It's tough any time you don't have your five starters in spring ball, in training camp, getting ready to start the season. So, we've been seeing them plug and play in some guys. Obviously, Kolton [Miller] coming back off an injury. He didn't have the reps in the spring, in training camp, in preseason, so Kolton is a little rusty. Left guard's been kind of up and down. We've been counting on Jackson Powers-Johnson to be out there, but he's been limited so far in his participation.

"And then, the right side, you know, you basically have three guys who are entrenched as your starters. You have Andre James Dylan Parham, Thayer Munford, so what I'm seeing out of the offensive line is just sloppy play, some sloppy technique, miscommunications. I think one of the sacks in the Baltimore game was a miscommunication. Kolton should have blocked out, he blocked down let the D-end go free. So, it's definitely an area that they got to get cleaned up. They got to get the run game going. They got to protect Gardner [Minshew II]. I think we saw in the second half of that Baltimore game, if they give Gardner time to throw the ball, he can get completions down the field."

The much-needed improvement up front could start with the addition of Powers-Johnson, who will be making his NFL debut against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

"I haven't seen very much out of Jackson because he didn't practice in preseason when I was there coaching with the team," Incognito said. "He's been limited in practice. So, he's been getting limited reps right now. I hope to see a physical mauler, or I hope to see a guy that comes out there and brings the emotion, brings the fire, that kind of gets those other guys going and fires them up."

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